Kiwi IT trio take out Gold

Equinox IT, OneNet and Connect NZ
demonstrate best-in-class capability to be certified as
Microsoft Gold PartnersThree innovative Kiwi IT companies have
successfully achieved Gold competencies, putting them in the
top one per cent of Microsoft partners globally.

Equinox IT and OneNet Limited are the first
organisations in New Zealand to be recognised as Microsoft
Gold Partners for Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and
Hosting competencies respectively, while Connect NZ attained
one of only a handful of Gold Volume Licensing
competencies.

For OneNet
founder and director, Dr Michael Snowden, investing in and
attaining Gold status serves as a differentiator between his
company and other organisations in the cloud computing
market.

“Our clients feel a strong sense of
stability with our organisation because of the serious
effort and investment required to become a Microsoft Gold
Hosting Partner."

“In fact, we saw value almost
immediately. With Microsoft accreditation our business
partners and their clients recognise OneNet as offering one
of the best locally-hosted cloud services supported by a
very experienced team of well qualified engineers.”

OneNet customer John Lynch from WizardIT says using a
Gold Hosting partner “bodes very well” for their own
client’s confidence.

“It is very reassuring for
ourselves and our clients that our NZ based cloud partner is
serious about achieving a very high standard of
accreditation.”

Companies that achieve Gold
accreditation receive core and competency-specific benefits.
This includes internal use software licenses and a host of
support benefits ranging from technical phone support to
partner advisory hours.

These can be used towards
any number of support offerings including technical presales
and advisory services. In addition there is unlimited access
to training at the Partner Learning Centre and access to
marketing resources, competitive assistance and business
advice.

Equinox IT Software Development Director,
Deane Sloan, says they will use exclusive Gold Partner
training, as well as the latest software and support, to
improve their ability to meet their customers’ needs.

“Equipped with the benefits a Gold Partner receives,
we are well positioned to help our customers to improve
their business with proven software development practices
and leading purpose-built business applications.

"We have a high-capability software development team who
are experts in using agile and lean approaches along with
the Microsoft Visual Studio development platform. We are
proud to become Microsoft’s first New Zealand Gold partner
for the ALM competency, recognising our leadership and
commitment in this area.”

According to Karl
Rosnell, Connect NZ's CEO, the proactive management of
software licensing is a journey that never ends.

“We take the role of trusted advisor to our customers
seriously, and the Microsoft Gold partnership is key to our
mutual success.

“Holding a Microsoft Partner Gold
Competency in Volume Licensing gives reassurance to
customers that our company can analyse and identify their
product and capability requirements and recommend the best
Microsoft licensing solution for their needs.”

Ichter says he commends all three companies for their
efforts to meet Microsoft’s stringent requirements for
Gold competencies.

“These partners have shown a
deep expertise that puts them in the top one per cent of our
partner ecosystem. They have aligned their organisations
with Microsoft and can now capitalise on the benefits their
Gold competency gives them, including the ability to set
their businesses apart from the competition.”

--

About Microsoft:Founded
in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide
leader in software, services and solutions that help people
and businesses realise their full potential.

About the Microsoft Partner
Network:The Microsoft Partner Network helps
partners strengthen their capabilities to showcase
leadership in the marketplace on the latest technology, to
better serve customers and, with 640,000 Microsoft partners
in their ecosystem, to easily connect with one of the most
active, diverse networks in the world.

A total of seven new areas will be opened up to oil and gas exploration under its block offer tendering system, as the New Zealand government seeks to concentrate activity in a few strategically chosen areas. More>>

“The Prime Minister reassured New Zealanders that ‘post the passing of this law, will you all of a sudden find thousands of workers who are denied having a tea break? The answer is absolutely not’... Cotton On is proposing to remove tea and meal breaks for workers in its safety sensitive distribution centre. How long before other major chains try and follow suit?” More>>